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Maladaptive/Maladjustment

Chapter · October 2012

DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_32

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David Busse Ilona S Yim

University of California, Irvine University of California, Irvine
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Maladaptive/Maladjustment
David Busse and Ilona S. Yim
Department of Psychology and Social Behaviour, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA,
USA

Synonyms

Dysfunctional/dysfunction; Maladjustive ; Maladaptation;

Definition

Maladjustment is the result of insufficient responses to demands that may occur throughout the
life span and result in impaired functioning, distress, and/or poor health. The term maladap- tive
refers to processes (e.g., specific behaviors, patterns of thought or emotion that yield negative
outcomes) whereas maladjustment is the result or outcome of this process.

Description

The terms maladjustment and maladaptive are used in a wide range of contexts, which may
broadly be categorized as social, psychological, and biological. Social maladjustment refers to
how a person develops and maintains interper- sonal relationships, especially with peers. Mal-
adaptive behaviors in this realm often emerge during childhood when individuals learn how to
navigate their social world and solve interper- sonal problems. During this period, children face
changing school settings and social net- works. Children who are not able to successfully adjust
to these new environments may exhibit a range of maladaptive behaviors, such as aggres- sion or
rough play, which may lead to peer rejec- tion (Ladd & Price, 1987).

The terms maladjustment and maladaptive, when applied to the psychological domain, may also
refer to how well somebody is able to regu- late their emotions. Emotions typically serve
adaptive purposes in how individuals interact with the environment. Thus, psychological mal-
adjustment may be characterized by high levels of “emotional inertia” (Kuppens, Allen, &
Sheeber, 2010), or the inability to respond appro- priately to the dynamically changing demands
of a given situation.

Finally, maladjustment and maladaptie pro- cesses can also pertain to how individuals physio-
logically respond and adapt to environmental demands. The human body attempts to respond
optimally to the continually changing environment, a concept that has been termed allostasis
(McEwen & Stellar, 1993). Key systems involved in this process are the autonomic nervous
system, the hypothalamic pituitary-adrenal axis, and the immune and cardiovascular systems.
Repeated activation of these systems exerts wear and tear on the body, termed allostatic load.
High levels of allostatic load, when quantified using objective health parameters, have been
associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and lower physical and cognitive
functioning (Seeman, Singer, Rowe, Horwitz, & McEwen, 1997).
Maladjustment and maladaptive processes have been studied throughout the life span, rang- ing
from the prenatal period to old age. These studies provide important insight into the imme- diate
and long-term health consequences of mal- adjustment at different times in life. Researchers
study maladjustment in the context of how cer- tain prenatal events during critical periods can
have lasting implications on development throughout the life span. For example, the Dutch
Famine Studies are a series of studies that exam- ine the mechanisms linking disease outcomes to
deprivation in utero. A blockade of food supplies in the Netherlands between November 1944
and April 1945 created a natural experiment from which to study the effects of maternal
malnutri- tion. It was later found that children who were in gestation during the famine had
higher rates of adult diseases, including coronary heart disease (Roseboom et al., 2001) and
schizophrenia (Hoek, Brown, & Susser, 1998). Similarly, a study of 141 Canadian families who
endured a severe and prolonged ice storm during the win- ter of 1998 demonstrates how severe
stressors can result in postnatal maladjustment. Children whose mothers were exposed to more
severe stress had poorer cognitive and language devel- opment at age two than children whose
mothers who experienced less stress during the ice storm (King & Laplante, 2005).

Typically, the effect of maladaptive behavior is studied during later periods of life. A classic
example for how maladaptive behavior can lead to adverse health outcomes is the link between
certain components of Type A behavior patterns (i.e., hostility) and coronary heart disease
(CHD). Type A behavior is characterized by aggressive- ness, impatience, and competitiveness.
Although these behaviors often lead to high status in the workplace, they may also be
maladaptive in the context of maintaining health. By itself, mal- adaptive behavior does not have
an effect on disease pathogenesis. Rather, this process occurs through the repeated and
exaggerated activation of biological regulatory systems (e.g., high blood pressure), conflictual
and unsupportive social relationships, and health-compromising behav- iors (e.g., smoking). A
link between maladaptive personality traits and development of disease has been demonstrated in
past research. A longitudi- nal study with over 4,700 college students showed that greater
hostility at age 19 predicted more risk factors for CHD, including higher caf- feine consumption,
larger body mass index (BMI), higher cholesterol, and more tobacco use (Seigler, Peterson,
Barefoot, & Williams, 1992).

References and Readings

Hoek, H. W., Brown, A. S., & Susser, E. (1998). The Dutch famine and schizophrenia spectrum
disorders. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 33, 373–379.

King, S., & Laplante, D. P. (2005). The effects of prenatal maternal stress on children’s cognitive
development: Project ice storm. Stress, 8, 35–45.

Kuppens, P., Allen, N. B., & Sheeber, L. B. (2010). Emotional inertia and psychological
maladjustment. Psychological Science, 21, 984–991. doi:10.1177/ 0956797610372634.

Ladd, G. W., & Price, J. M. (1987). Predicting children’s social and school adjustment following
the transition from preschool to kindergarten. Child Development, 58, 1168–1189.
 McEwen, B., & Stellar, E. (1993). Stress and the individual: Mechanisms leading to disease.
Archives of Internal Medicine, 153, 2093–2101.

Roseboom, T. J., van der Meulen, J. H. P., Ravelli, A. C. J., Osmond, C., Barker, D. J. P., &
Bleker, O. P. (2001). Effects of prenatal exposure to the Dutch famine on adult disease in
later life: An overview. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, 185, 93–98.

Seeman, T. E., Singer, B. H., Rowe, J. W., Horwitz, R. I., & McEwen, B. S. (1997). Price of
adaptation-Allostatic load and its health consequences: MacArthur studies of successful
aging. Archives of Internal Medicine, 157, 2259–2268.

Siegler, I. C., Peterson, B. L., Barefoot, J. C., & Williams, R. B. (1992). Hostility during late
adolescence predicts coronary risk factors at mid-life. American Journal of
Epidemiology, 136, 145–154.

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